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Spanish classes create art out of waste materials

Spanish teacher Diana De La Cruzâ€™s Spanish 3 Honors classes created group art projects completely out of trash from Thursday, Oct. 15 to Friday, Nov. 6. The purpose was to demonstrate the importance of recycling and to compare the amount of waste in Latin America with the amount in the United States.

â€śCompared to Latin America, the United States has more trash and litter because a lot of people donâ€™t take the time to recycle, [but we are learning that] stuff you usually throw away can be put together to make things you can reuse,â€ť junior Tiffany Casillas said. â€śIf everyone would take the time to recycle, I think it would do wonders.â€ť

The students constructed their projects by finding scraps and reusing waste. To find materials, they searched through their own recycling or trash bins and around the house for objects they no longer used. Each group was given a $5 limit to purchase glue or other supplies.

â€śThe project is more free because you can do whatever you want as long as itâ€™s not too crazy,â€ť junior Terry Xiang said. â€śItâ€™s about being creative. I think Spanish 3 is when [the teachers] start implementing activities to help us understand societal impacts.â€ť

The project aimed to teach students about the importance of maintaining a more eco-friendly environment by exposing them to the effects of litter in their communities. Each group must also present its creation along with an explanation in Spanish of how it interpreted the assignment.

â€ś[Something] that I am personally taking from this project is the idea of ignorance and awareness in our society,â€ť Xiang said. â€śThe problems that we donâ€™t think much of, other people may think a lot about, like the idea that trash may seem like trash to you but something great to other people.â€ť